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| NEWARK, NJ – On Tuesday, June 26, 2007, the Newark
Downtown District (NDD) broke ground on a $17.5 million Capital Streetscape
Improvement Project that will remake 56 blocks of Downtown Newark, improving
sidewalks, lighting, signage, horticulture, benches, trash receptacles
and more. It is the largest project ever to be financed by a Special Improvement
District (SID) in the State of New Jersey.
Mayor Cory A. Booker dispensed with his suit jacket in the hot summer sun and addressed the crowd of more than 100 in his shirtsleeves in front of Gateway Four at Market Street and Mulberry Street. Booker connected this Project and other major upcoming events in Downtown Newark – such as the opening of the Prudential Center in October – to job creation that will benefit the citizens of Newark and Newark's economic development. Booker then led a group wearing hard hats and wielding shovels at the groundbreaking. Deputy Mayor Stefan Pryor, Newark Downtown District (NDD) Executive Director Anthony McMillan, President of the NDD Board of Trustees and Principal of Edison Properties Doug Sarini, Daniel Biederman of BRV Corporation, and Matthew Abraham of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority also attended and made comments. The Newark Downtown District (NDD,) which is a Special Improvement District (SID) funded by an assessment on nearly 600 properties in Downtown Newark, is directing the Project which is being financed through an innovative partnership with the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA). The NJEDA approved $10 million in bonds that have been issued on behalf of the Newark Downtown District (NDD); the NDD will pay the debt service on the bonds. The remainder of the $17.5 million is being supplied through cash and in-kind commitments from the City of Newark, the Newark Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ), the Newark Downtown District (NDD), and PSE&G. The Newark Downtown District (NDD) was able to assemble the financing with the support of the Booker Administration and Newark Municipal Council. The Project will occur in phases over a three-year period. The first phase of construction will focus on the area immediately surrounding the Prudential Center – including portions of Market Street, Edison Place, Alling Street and Mulberry Street – to prepare the area for the grand opening of the arena this fall. "This is an exciting time for Downtown Newark. The Newark Downtown District Streetscape Improvement Project is the first significant, wide-scale capital improvement project to take place in Downtown Newark in over a generation," said Anthony McMillan, Executive Director, Newark Downtown District (NDD). The design of Newark Downtown District Streetscape Improvement Project was led by BRV Corporation of New York and Stantec/Vollmer, a Newark and New York-based engineering and landscape architecture firm, with support from H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture LLC. The team previously worked together on large streetscape improvement projects in New York City in the areas of Grand Central, Bryant Park and 34th Street. The wayfinding signage is being designed by Newwork. Daniel Biederman, Principal of BRV Corp., characterized the Project as being the best designed comprehensive streetscape project to date: "The Downtown Newark Streetscape Improvement Project will in some ways be better than those streetscape programs I’ve led in Manhattan, since we were able to learn from those experiences and tweak the design and materials to a better advantage for Newark." All fixtures will be finished in a high performance, graffiti-resistant color coating in City of Newark standard black. |
  For more information, Please contact the Newark Downtown District (NDD) at 973-733-9333 or visit www.downtownnewark.com |